Review Corner

Category: Uncategorized

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    The Last Vinci: The Last Vinci

    This radio-friendly rock album from Turin/Cork based The Last da Vinci came out on 2nd March according to the Press release but we’ve had it before — it came out sometime last year, we think. It’s a hard album to review: they’ve put a lot of love and effort into making this record and in…

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    Evans The Death: Expect Delays

    The NME gave this 8/10 but we’re not sure we would agree. More like seven. Evans The Death — which is a good name for a band — play retro indie pop that we ought to like more than we do. It’s characterised by strong female vocals and an early 80s sound, with a soul…

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    Flowers: Do What You Want, It’s What You Should Do

    We think Flowers are one of those trendy bands that everyone is going to rave about; big spreads in the NME after a handful of gigs, that sort of thing. This album is produced by Bernard Butler and the Press release talks about their genius. Sadly we are unconvinced. The opening song from the trio…

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    Champs: Vamala

    This isn’t The Champs who had that hit with the famous Tequila, but just Champs — it’s brother Michael and David Champion. The music is mournful folk/pop, as if Simon and Garfunkel were very sad about something like getting old or having silly hair. Or about being remembered for writing a song about rabbits. There’s…

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    Duke Special: Look Out Machines!

    Duke Special (he’s Irish and really called Peter) has been producing impressive pop albums for some time. Rather like Rufus Wainwright, he can both hit and miss his target, though he’s never less than totally ambitious and it’s always lovingly produced. This new album is a definite bull’s-eye. Opener Wingman sets the tone, his slightly…

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    Echosmith: Talking Dreams

    This is an excellent pop album, with all the benefits and disadvantages that entails. On the upside: think Ladyhawke. Catchy/lively pop/dance tunes that rapidly wend their way into your brain. They’re all catchy and instantly likeable; not least Come Together, the opening track, and Cool Kids, which is all about wishing you were as cool…

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    GoGo Penguin: v2.0

    We actually bought this ourselves — paid our own money for it — mainly because it was on Gondwana records, and we had a press release from them quite recently and they sounded cool. Gogo Penguin are a jazz trio and to our ears it sounds like Bob James, the famous inventor of easy listening…

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    Jack Savoretti: Written In Scars

    Mr Savoretti is, we guess, going to be the cool sound of 2015 (if he’s not already). This is a really classy album, packed with style and beautifully arranged. If you want to be critical — which is supposed to be our job after all — he reminded us of Paolo Nutini, who similarly sells…

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    Epoca Barocca: Janitsch, Sonate Da Chiesa

    Yet another relative unknown who deserves better, this is a lovely album. If you want to listen to classical music, this is how you imagine it: gentle, timeless baroque music playing in the background while you read Dickens, or press wild flowers or paint. Cultured. Johann Gottlieb Janitsch (1708–1763) was a German Baroque composer and…

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    Quartet Base: Le Diapason

    Another release on the French Circum-disk label, Quartet Base is a jazz outfit that, like Troyka, seems to rely on some degree of improvisation, and, again like Troyka, seem a band capable of a little humorous mischief. This is an album which we’d guess is avant-garde jazz, though the sound is varied. It opens with…